Californians value higher education – a recent survey by Gallup shows that “90% of Californians over age 25 say at least one type of postsecondary credential is ‘very’ or ‘extremely’ valuable.”
Californians want to be lifelong learners. But for many reasons, many people decide that “college isn’t for me.”
That doesn’t just hold them back, it holds the entire economy back: California is facing a shortage of educated workers. Businesses and the state economy need more workers to upskill in order to fill important jobs.
The problem is, the Californians who find traditional higher education to be inaccessible aren’t wrong: The traditional higher education system isn’t for everybody, and really can be inaccessible.
Hector desperately wanted an education, but was stuck because his “Dreamer” immigration status meant he was ineligible for financial aid. He had to choose between keeping his job or going to school, and it wasn’t really a choice: He needed his job.
Alana faced similar struggles. She was enrolled in college in Hawaii, but had to move to California and “unfortunately, I didn’t have the financial resources to re-enroll and finish after my move,” she said. “When I got here, I worked short-term contract positions that didn’t offer consistency or job security – I couldn’t get a job that offered stability because I didn’t have a credential – and was struggling to get by.”
The problems they faced were obvious: College cost too much. Classes were inflexible and so not compatible with their jobs. They had the potential to be great students, but higher education couldn’t give them the opportunity. Those are systemic issues students can not overcome on their own.
Other adults who wanted an education had more personal issues as well.
Chris is smart and capable, but he’d tried to go to college several times, and it just didn’t work for him. “I’d been an on-again-off-again community college student for a really long time,” he said. “I went to school because that’s what you have to do, and it just never really kind of stuck with me. You start working, life happens, you decide to take less classes, maybe the college isn’t offering the courses that you need, and then you’re not a student any more. For me, that’s just what happened multiple times.”
Chris could hold a job – he was successful as a retail director – but the advantages of having a college credential were out of reach for him because the traditional college format just didn’t work for him. And he found it was a challenge to pivot jobs after pandemic layoffs without a certificate or degree.
Sean had a similar story. He’s a quick study and wanted to get into computers, but after a year of college he realized that the system just wasn’t working for him. “It was a rough ride,” he said, and went looking for jobs instead. But without a college degree, the kind of career he wanted was out of reach.
Like millions of other Californians, they were stuck without a college credential – and the California economy wasn’t benefitting from their potential.
Making College Accessible Makes A Big Difference
In 2018, the California legislature created Calbright – a fully online, statewide, community college. Its mission is to reimagine higher education to make it work for people who think “college isn’t for me,” like Alana and Chris, Hector and Sean, and thousands more Californians
It succeeded, and so did they. Calbright is now a nationally recognized example of a college that works for people who find traditional education inaccessible.
“My whole life, I’ve heard about all the help I can’t get,” Hector said. But Calbright is free to all Californians – anyone who lives here can take classes – and its programs are designed to work around the schedules of full time employees and caregivers and people with other adult responsibilities. That meant he could enroll in Calbright’s IT Support program, and he was able to get a job working with robots before he even graduated.
After a lifetime of getting “no’s,” Calbright told Hector “yes,” and it made all the difference.
Alana has a similar story.
“In total, it took me about eight months from when I started Calbright, to finding a new job and getting my first raise,” she said.
Calbright’s doesn’t offer traditional degrees that take years to complete – it offers certificates in industry-valued skills that businesses are hiring for. Every student gets to set their own pace, but their programs can be completed in a matter of months.
“I’m really happy with my experience at Calbright, and if someone is considering enrolling, I would definitely say go for it,” Alana said. “Calbright offers so much support, it’s extremely helpful. It even offers support in ways that you probably didn’t even know you needed.”
Sean didn’t want that kind of support – he’s a solitary learner – but he liked that it was available if he needed it, and that when he didn’t Calbright would just let him learn as fast as he wanted to. It mattered to him that, unlike a traditional school, he could set his own pace. That changed everything.
“I burned through most of the CRM Platform Administration course in a month-and-a-half,” he said. He’s now a “CRM Ninja” with a long term job working with technology to enhance customer experiences.
It’s the kind of career he wanted.
Even though college had never worked for Chris, he felt great about going to Calbright. “I had a lot of wind in my sails and I was feeling really, really good and really proud of myself. I finished the first part of the course in just two months!” he said.
He finished the full program not long after, worked with Calbright’s career support team to update his resume, and with his new certification in hand, he got a job he’s passionate about as an IT Assistant at the Foundation for California Community Colleges.
Calbright’s innovative model makes college more accessible to everyone. By reimagining college, Calbright is helping thousands of Californians discover: “college can be for me.”
